ELON — The final snapshot of Thomas Wilson in an Elon University football uniform doesn’t have to be a dejected image.

The senior quarterback, despite an achy non-throwing shoulder and a sore ankle, is expected to be ready to play in Saturday’s season finale at Chattanooga.

That’s obviously an encouraging development, especially considering the painful manner in which he exited last week’s loss to Samford.

After being sacked five times and absorbing punishing hits throughout, Wilson’s left arm bent an awkward way late in that game while trying, stiff-arm style, to repel Samford safety Trey Wesley.

“I thought it was over right there,” Elon coach Jason Swepson said this week, recalling the sequence, with Wilson’s scramble followed by Wesley’s tackle on the visiting sideline at Rhodes Stadium. “I was like, ‘that’s it.’ ”

Wilson, the Southern Conference’s passing leader again this season, was down for several minutes.

Then, gimpy and hurting, his head lowered and left arm locked almost as if escorting somebody, he slowly crossed the width of the field to reach the Elon sideline and essentially check out of his final home game.

But, albeit in a limited capacity, he returned to practice this week, surprising even Swepson to a degree.

“It just shows you how much he wants to play in this game on Saturday,” Swepson said. “Even if he didn’t practice all week, he still deserves the right to be our starting quarterback, because this is his last game.”

The Phoenix (3-7 overall, 1-6 Southern Conference) is looking to stop a slide of six losses in its last seven games when it meets Chattanooga (5-5, 4-3) this weekend.

He suffered a bruised non-throwing shoulder last month at Appalachian State. With Elon’s open date on the schedule the following week, he missed 10 days of activity while on the mend from that injury.

“It’s not as bad as what it was after that,” Swepson said, noting Wilson, in comparison, now has more range of motion and is experiencing less stiffness.

What happens after Saturday amounts to a changing of the guard for a program that has experienced marked stability at quarterback.

Wilson and former star Scott Riddle, the league’s all-time leading passer, have accounted for every starting appearance by an Elon quarterback since the 2007 season began.

So who’s the quarterback of the future for the Phoenix?

“That’s to be determined, really,” Swepson said.

Mike Quinn, the sophomore backup to Wilson, should have the inside track on the job, Swepson said.

Page 2 of 2 - True freshman John Loughery, a cousin of the Atlanta Falcons’ Matt Ryan, took a redshirt this year and mostly performed scout-team work.

And because of chronic shin problems that likely will cut short Tyler Smith’s college career before it ever gained traction — he’s a Maryland transfer whose 2011 arrival at Elon generated high expectations — Swepson said his staff plans on recruiting a quarterback from the junior college ranks.

“It’s one of those things that happen. That experiment didn’t work out,” Swepson said, referring to Smith. “So we’ve got to go back to finding an older kid. Quinnie needs some competition. I think Loughery’s got a chance to be a good one, but he’s young.”

Quinn has filled in for Wilson in spots during the last two seasons. He played the final 2˝ minutes of last week’s loss to Samford, completing 4 of 6 passes for 38 yards that included an 18-yard touchdown strike to Aaron Mellette between two defenders.

Clay Johnson, the center on Elon’s offensive line, said he has noticed Quinn grasping details such as understanding pressures from defenses and then shifting protection schemes.

“He does great with all of that,” Johnson said. “And he’s confident, which is what you like to see, especially from a young guy and especially for a guy like me who’s got another year left here.”

Mellette, the standout senior receiver, said determining Elon’s next quarterback could become a close call. He said Quinn throws an accurate, “pretty ball,” but that Loughery, for instance, appears to possess more arm strength.

“You really won’t know until spring ball comes,” Mellette said. “Once they’re thrust into that role, when it’s their moment, that’s the only way you can find out who’s going to step up and take it.”